F-51 Mustang
The Decatur Aviation Corporation F-51 Mustang was the primary fighter used by the Democratic Republic Airforce and Navy from 1942 to 1957. They were powered by the Rolls-Royce Griffon 89 V-12 Liquid Cooled Piston Engine, these were unique to the Democratic Republic. The Democratic Republic Navy was so pleased with the F-51, that they developed a naval version. Development Prior to 1940, the Democratic Republic Airforce had adopted several aircraft to the fill the role of Fighter Aircraft and Escort Aircraft, due to being in a large scale World War, the DRAF primarily flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109, locally produced and designated as the F-39, these were retired with the introduction of the F-40 Warhawk in 1939, the retired Bf 109's were sold to Greater Espana and part of the money received was used to start development of a new fighter, many designs started coming in from the various local companies and some foreign companies that were part of the allies, the DRAF finally settled on the Decatur Aviation Corporation X-51 Fighter. After prototypes were delivered and extensive trials were held by the DRAF, DAC won the contract to build the DRAF 7,000 Aircraft, the DRN had also trialed the fighter and was very pleased with the performance and soon developed a Naval Version for use on Carriers. Operational History The F-51 Mustang came into service during the early 1940's with the Democratic Republic Airforce, replacing the F-40 Warhawk in many squadrons, sending most of the Warhawks into the reserve with few squadrons still fielding them with the F-51 Mustang. (Have a feeling this will take a bit, so I will need time to figure the rest of this out) On Display Airworthy A-36D *43-84824 - Tarakian Beauty, On Display at Naval Air Weapons Station Tracy island, flown by Eugene Hastings F-51G-25 *46-64275 - Elaine, On Display at Hopeville Airforce Base, flown by Edward Hastings Variants *'X-51' 14 Prototypes developed and trialed with the Allison V-1790 V-12 *'X-51-2' 5 Prototypes developed and trialed with the Rolls-Royce Griffon 89 V-12 *'A-36' A dedicated ground attack variant developed specifically for the DRAF, fitted with the same Griffon 89 as the F-51A *'F-51' Early production version fitted with the Allison V-1790 *'F-51A' Produced in 1943 and fitted with the Rolls-Royce Griffon 89 *'F-51B' Joint development by both the Airforce and Navy, the F-51B first appeared in spring of 1943 and saw service during the Genevieve Offensive *'F-51C' Development of the F-51C started in fall/winter of 1943 and first appeared in 1944, almost exclusively used by the Democratic Republic Navy as their premier Naval Fighter alongside the F-40N Navalhawk *'TP-51C' Dual-control trainer variant developed in fall/winter of 1943 *'F-51D' Developed in 1945 at the height of the war, it was the last variant produced for both the DRAF and DRN before it was realized the war would not end in '45. first came into service in late 1945 *'F-51J' Developed from parts hulks sent back to Tarakia, the 'J' models were more or less Frankenstein's developed from various bodies of different models *'F-51G' New production and successor to the 'D' models used by the DRAF and DRN, first developed in 1947 and appearing in 1948. In 1951, the DRN developed the F-51G-25 that removed the two outermost .50cal machine guns in both of the wings and replaced them with the XM39 20mm revolver cannon *'F-51H' Developed for the export market, it was more or less a stripped down 'J' model F-51 *'F-51K' Final production variant, it incorporated features that were developed by the Navy on the F-51G-25 that carried 2 .50 Cals and 2 M39 20mm cannons, the 'K' model was similar but had 4 .50 Cals and 2 M39 20mm cannons. The P-51K-10 was a unique variant among the 'K' models, developed with contra-rotating propellers and fitted with the Rolls-Royce Griffon 130 V-12 Liquid Cooled Piston Engine. Specifications(F-51G/K) General Characteristics *Crew: 1 *Length: 32 Feet, 3 Inches *Wingspan: 37 Feet *Height: 13 Feet, 4½ Inches *Wing Area: 235 Square Feet *Empty Weight: 7,635 Pounds *Loaded Weight: 9,200 Pounds *Max Takeoff Weight: 12,100 Pounds *Powerplant: Rolls-Royce Griffon 89 V-12 Liquid Cooled Piston Engine (2,350 Horsepower) *Zero-lift Drag Coefficient: 0.0163 *Drag Area: 3.80 Square Feet *Aspect Ratio: 5.83 Performance *Maximum Speed: 475 Mp/H (413 Knots) *Cruise Speed: 379 Mp/H (330 Knots) *Stall Speed: 100 Mp/H (87 Knots) *Range: 1,600 Nautical Miles *Service Ceiling: 41,900 Feet *Rate of Climb: 3,200 Feet/Min *Wing Loading: 39 Pounds/Square Feet *Power/Mass: 0.18 Horsepower/Pounds *Lift-to-drag Ratio: 14.6 Armament *6x AN/M2 12.7mm Browning Heavy Machine Guns (Total of 1,880 Rounds) *2x Hardpoints for up to 2,000 Pound bombs *6-10x M64 5.0 Inch H.V.A.R Rockets (F-51G-25 or F-51K-25) 1952 *2x AN/M2 12.7mm Browning Heavy Machine Guns (800 Rounds) *2x M39 20mm Single Barrel Revolver Cannons (500 Rounds) Category:Tarakia